Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Belgium instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
be 12.6% less likely to be obese
In Ireland, 25.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Belgium, that number is 22.1% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 46.3% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $89,700 as of 2020, while in Belgium, the GDP per capita is $48,200 as of 2020.
be 13.0% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Ireland, 13.1% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Belgium, however, that number is 14.8% as of 2018.
pay a 11.9% higher top tax rate
Ireland has a top tax rate of 48.0% as of 2016. In Belgium, the top tax rate is 53.7% as of 2016.
Life
have 11.1% fewer children
In Ireland, there are approximately 12.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Belgium, there are 10.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 88.2% more on education
Ireland spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Belgium spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 59.7% more on healthcare
Ireland spends 6.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Belgium, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 95.4% less coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In Belgium, that number is 66 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Service Public Fédéral Finances, The World Factbook, The Office of the Revenue Commissioners.
Belgium: At a glance
How big is Belgium compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.